Louis van Gaal has wasted no time in utilising his strength and knowledge of Dutch football to benefit Manchester United.

LvG was confirmed as United’s new manager earlier this week and has reportedly ordered Manchester United scouts to compile reports on Dutch youngsters to present to the Manchester United board.

While van Gaal will have a sound knowledge of the players in question, this shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering the sums of money United’s chiefs are being tipped to part with this summer.

“Scouts have also been busy compiling reports on members of his Holland squad for scrutiny by the club's hierarchy ahead of possible bids,” reports the Daily Mail.

Two such players according to the Mail’s report are Bruno Martins and Daryl Janmaat, highly rated Dutch players that van Gaal has monitored personally up close.

It’s almost like a business pitch with United’s boss seemingly taking no risks at all as he looks to snap up some of the best young players that the Netherlands has produced over the last few years.

The news shows that van Gaal is thinking long term for United while also addressing some more immediate squad concerns to prevent a repeat of the failings from last summer.

United continue to work away on a number of higher profile deals to address defensive and midfield concerns, but LvG is keeping one eye on the future development of his Manchester United team which is something Sir Alex Ferguson was a master at during his time at the club.

“Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has instructed the club to make midfield and defence their priority in their recruitment drive,” adds the report.

On the one hand, United fans will want plenty of big name signings this summer to try and fight their way back to the top of the Premier League but on the other hand, completely transforming the side with high profile stars and big egos presents an obvious danger.

It’s a professional approach from van Gaal designed to save time and ease any concerns that United’s board have in relation to the sums of money needed to sign some of the younger members of the Netherlands World Cup squad.

He’s covering his bases, apparently in the hope that he’ll get approval for the deals quicker and whichever way you look at it, that’s a smart tactic.

Lewis Doe

Lewis Doe is a freelance writer and editor who seeks to bring you the biggest, smallest and most interesting stories from the football world. Lewis has previously written for some of the biggest football news and opinion sites in the world including FootballFanCast and Goal.com International. Lewis is also experienced writing in the betting industry and aims to deliver his stories with up to date factual and statistical information. He hopes to sum up stories for the site and provide an angle on the issue moving forward.Lewis is HITC Sport's La Liga correspondent.